Developing a Strategy at the Beginner Stage Firms at the Beginner stage understand the need for improvement is understood and have already invested time and resources to implement a strategy. At this stage the firm typically partners with an expert consultant to develop the problem solving abilities of their employee group to be able to solve problems on the shop floor to root cause and collaborate on implementing corrective actions. My strategy advice can be condensed to relating to Process and People. Process Beware the temptation to fall in love with a continuous improvement strategy that is many years of maturity beyond your firms development. A 6 Sigma implementation or the trendy ‘agile’ approach to improvement are not what I would recommend. The latest and greatest is often just an overhyped complex system that is difficult to implement, harder to maintain, and potentially impossible to realize return on investment. My advice, as with the Awakening firms, is the full implementation of a 5S discipline to move your culture toward learning and disciplined systemic approaches. 5S done well will transform your business ability |
|
If you already have a successful 5S and Standard work process in place, focus on the implementation of a sound total productive maintenance system. These three foundational pillars of Lean are so powerful that you will see dramatic improvements in employee engagement, productivity, and quality before you even begin to implement Lean production. No other continuous improvement strategy ties these elements together better than does Lean.
People
When Standard work and 5S are in place employees can move from one position to the next wherever demand requires them to be. A key recommendation is to cross train employees within their departments while also involving them in workstation improvement projects leveraging the Kaizen approach.
Leaders must continue to improve their skills and it is strongly recommended they work with a leadership coach who is a skilled Lean practitioner. In this way leaders will learn how to reinforce a learning culture that is embracing the Lean approach.
Subsequent Years
Process
The strategy remains largely the same, complete the implementation of foundational Lean elements and begin to look at the requirements of Lean production. Learning the process of designing the future state value stream map is a crucial progress milestone. When you can clearly see the significant gap between the 'as is' and 'future state' map, you will have your next strategic plan input. Recognize that as with lean foundations, lean production itself has many levels of sophistication. In early years the pursuit of perfection and elimination of waste will be sufficient to fuel your continuous improvement strategy. This will soon evolve to pursuing level flow, SMED (single minute exchange of dies) and cellular work design. More mature facilities will also pursue Kanban systems as well as moving toward an enterprise view of lean.
People
In subsequent years your continuous improvement strategy should move from relying on external experts to growing your own expertise. If your lean manager is able to successfully facilitate Kaizen events and is actively teaching others in the organization how to live lean, you are well on your way. A word of caution, Lean is a culture of respect for persons. This is not only the typical respect we demonstrate toward others in the west, it also contains a clear expectation that we challenge other to grow and demonstrate their knowledge. If respect isn’t at the core of your lean initiative, it will struggle to realize its true revolutionary benefit to your firm.
People
When Standard work and 5S are in place employees can move from one position to the next wherever demand requires them to be. A key recommendation is to cross train employees within their departments while also involving them in workstation improvement projects leveraging the Kaizen approach.
Leaders must continue to improve their skills and it is strongly recommended they work with a leadership coach who is a skilled Lean practitioner. In this way leaders will learn how to reinforce a learning culture that is embracing the Lean approach.
Subsequent Years
Process
The strategy remains largely the same, complete the implementation of foundational Lean elements and begin to look at the requirements of Lean production. Learning the process of designing the future state value stream map is a crucial progress milestone. When you can clearly see the significant gap between the 'as is' and 'future state' map, you will have your next strategic plan input. Recognize that as with lean foundations, lean production itself has many levels of sophistication. In early years the pursuit of perfection and elimination of waste will be sufficient to fuel your continuous improvement strategy. This will soon evolve to pursuing level flow, SMED (single minute exchange of dies) and cellular work design. More mature facilities will also pursue Kanban systems as well as moving toward an enterprise view of lean.
People
In subsequent years your continuous improvement strategy should move from relying on external experts to growing your own expertise. If your lean manager is able to successfully facilitate Kaizen events and is actively teaching others in the organization how to live lean, you are well on your way. A word of caution, Lean is a culture of respect for persons. This is not only the typical respect we demonstrate toward others in the west, it also contains a clear expectation that we challenge other to grow and demonstrate their knowledge. If respect isn’t at the core of your lean initiative, it will struggle to realize its true revolutionary benefit to your firm.
A related recommendation is the implementation of standard work on all repetitive processes. Standard work unlike standard operating procedures, require a more in depth measurement of tasks and processes allowing a more thorough understanding of your performance and opportunities for employees to make further gains. 5S and Standard Work (along with Total Productive Maintenance) are foundational elements that allow Lean production to succeed in the first place.
Many organizations in their obsession with Lean Kaizen
blow past 5S, Standard Work, and TPM
and cannot figure out why
their implementation failed so completely.
|
If you already have a successful 5S and Standard work process in place, focus on the implementation of a sound total productive maintenance system. These three foundational pillars of Lean are so powerful that you will see dramatic improvements in employee engagement, productivity, and quality before you even begin to implement Lean production. No other continuous improvement strategy ties these elements together better than does Lean.
People
When Standard work and 5S are in place employees can move from one position to the next wherever demand requires them to be. A key recommendation is to cross train employees within their departments while also involving them in workstation improvement projects leveraging the Kaizen approach.
Leaders must continue to improve their skills and it is strongly recommended they work with a leadership coach who is a skilled Lean practitioner. In this way leaders will learn how to reinforce a learning culture that is embracing of the Lean approach.
Subsequent Years
Process
The strategy remains largely the same, complete the implementation of foundational Lean elements and begin to look at the requirements of Lean production. Learning the process of designing the future state value stream map is a crucial progress milestone. When you can clearly see the significant gap between the as is and future state map, you will have your next strategic plan input. Recognize that as with lean foundations, lean production itself has many levels of sophistication. In early years the pursuit of perfection and elimination of waste will be sufficient to fuel your continuous improvement strategy. This will soon evolve to pursuing level flow, SMED (single minute exchange of dies) and cellular work design. More mature facilities will also pursue Kanban systems as well as moving toward an enterprise view of lean.
People
In subsequent years your continuous improvement strategy should move from relying on external experts to growing your own expertise.
If your lean manager is able to successfully facilitate Kaizen events and is actively teaching others in the organization how to live lean, you are well on your way.
People
When Standard work and 5S are in place employees can move from one position to the next wherever demand requires them to be. A key recommendation is to cross train employees within their departments while also involving them in workstation improvement projects leveraging the Kaizen approach.
Leaders must continue to improve their skills and it is strongly recommended they work with a leadership coach who is a skilled Lean practitioner. In this way leaders will learn how to reinforce a learning culture that is embracing of the Lean approach.
Subsequent Years
Process
The strategy remains largely the same, complete the implementation of foundational Lean elements and begin to look at the requirements of Lean production. Learning the process of designing the future state value stream map is a crucial progress milestone. When you can clearly see the significant gap between the as is and future state map, you will have your next strategic plan input. Recognize that as with lean foundations, lean production itself has many levels of sophistication. In early years the pursuit of perfection and elimination of waste will be sufficient to fuel your continuous improvement strategy. This will soon evolve to pursuing level flow, SMED (single minute exchange of dies) and cellular work design. More mature facilities will also pursue Kanban systems as well as moving toward an enterprise view of lean.
People
In subsequent years your continuous improvement strategy should move from relying on external experts to growing your own expertise.
If your lean manager is able to successfully facilitate Kaizen events and is actively teaching others in the organization how to live lean, you are well on your way.
Lean is a culture of respect for persons.
If respect isn’t at the core of your lean initiative, it will struggle
to realize its true revolutionary benefit to your firm.
|
A word of caution, Lean is a culture of respect for persons. This is not only the typical respect we demonstrate toward others in the west, it also contains a clear expectation that we challenge other to grow and demonstrate their knowledge. If respect isn’t at the core of your lean initiative, it will struggle to realize its true revolutionary benefit to your firm.
If you' built a continuous improvement strategy, and not seeing the results you want, we're here to help.
Schedule your complementary STRATEGY SESSION and together we will design a plan that fits your unique business.
Schedule your complementary STRATEGY SESSION and together we will design a plan that fits your unique business.
Developing a Strategy at the Awakening Stage
(Part 3 of 3)
IMPROVE
You now have processes that are consistently delivering consistent quality and value to your customers. You have development plans in place for your leaders and basic problem solving abilities in your employees.
Where do you go from here?
Year 2
Your second year and beyond continuous improvement strategy will become a profit center for your firm. Your culture is slowly starting to shift, your leadership are on board and your employees starting to buy in. Once again we go back to the three business categories of; Process, Product, People to answer this question.
Process / Product
Now is the time to make a significant commitment to future development and performance. I strongly recommend the implementation of a 5S strategy at this point of development. This will be followed with a more formal Lean strategy implementation. All business processes in turn will be integrated into this strategy.
5S
This is a cultural revolution which sets the stage for optimal efficiency and effectiveness in a business process. When there is a place for everything and everything is in its place, inefficiencies become distant bad dreams. Employees are able to complete work at the highest level of value creation.
5S is a sequential series of steps that bring a sense of order and discipline to your workplace.
Lean
Lean is a culture of excellence which eliminates waste in all its forms, enhances quality and increases efficiency.
Now is the time to bring someone on board that can lead your continuous improvement strategy. I recommend your most active learning manager as your continuous improvement manager / director. This person should be developed by your external Lean Sensei over the course of the fiscal year so that they learn the nuances of the 5S implementation as well as the core lean tools.
People
With year one’s strategy complete, assess which of your leaders was the most earnest in learning and applying the skills needed for business success. I guarantee you that the combination of learning and applying skills is the most consistent predictor of who would be a successful lean implementor.
Be certain to secure the support of an external Lean Sensei to continue your new lean manager’s development. A sensei can walk your new lean manager through the strategy of Lean as well as the process of Kaizen events, 5S implementation and all other relevant lean tools and culture.
Include in your year 2 strategy a continuing development plan for each of your leaders as well as plan to train all employees on 5S and Lean basic tools.
Year 3
When you are successful in year 2 of this strategy, you will intuitively know where you need to go in year 3 and beyond.
(Part 3 of 3)
IMPROVE
You now have processes that are consistently delivering consistent quality and value to your customers. You have development plans in place for your leaders and basic problem solving abilities in your employees.
Where do you go from here?
Year 2
Your second year and beyond continuous improvement strategy will become a profit center for your firm. Your culture is slowly starting to shift, your leadership are on board and your employees starting to buy in. Once again we go back to the three business categories of; Process, Product, People to answer this question.
Process / Product
Now is the time to make a significant commitment to future development and performance. I strongly recommend the implementation of a 5S strategy at this point of development. This will be followed with a more formal Lean strategy implementation. All business processes in turn will be integrated into this strategy.
5S
This is a cultural revolution which sets the stage for optimal efficiency and effectiveness in a business process. When there is a place for everything and everything is in its place, inefficiencies become distant bad dreams. Employees are able to complete work at the highest level of value creation.
5S is a sequential series of steps that bring a sense of order and discipline to your workplace.
- Sort - removes the wrong things, leaving space for the right things
- Set - orders the right things based on usage increasing efficiency and effectiveness
- Shine - inspects and cleans equipment enhancing overall reliability
- Standardize - ensures the 3S’s (Sort, Set, and Shine) are systematized
- Sustain - ensures management reinforces the completion of the first 4 S’s
Lean
Lean is a culture of excellence which eliminates waste in all its forms, enhances quality and increases efficiency.
Now is the time to bring someone on board that can lead your continuous improvement strategy. I recommend your most active learning manager as your continuous improvement manager / director. This person should be developed by your external Lean Sensei over the course of the fiscal year so that they learn the nuances of the 5S implementation as well as the core lean tools.
People
With year one’s strategy complete, assess which of your leaders was the most earnest in learning and applying the skills needed for business success. I guarantee you that the combination of learning and applying skills is the most consistent predictor of who would be a successful lean implementor.
Be certain to secure the support of an external Lean Sensei to continue your new lean manager’s development. A sensei can walk your new lean manager through the strategy of Lean as well as the process of Kaizen events, 5S implementation and all other relevant lean tools and culture.
Include in your year 2 strategy a continuing development plan for each of your leaders as well as plan to train all employees on 5S and Lean basic tools.
Year 3
When you are successful in year 2 of this strategy, you will intuitively know where you need to go in year 3 and beyond.
Learn more about Developing a Strategy of Continuous Improvement
If you' re ready to begin building your continuous improvement strategy, we're here to help. Schedule your complementary STRATEGY SESSION and together we will design a plan that fits your unique business.
Developing a Strategy at the Awakening Stage
(Part 2 of 3)
PLAN
Okay now you have assessed your business and identified systemic deficiencies in certain customer facing processes, and evaluated the remainder of your processes. You have completed gap assessments on your leadership team and created development plans for your leadership team.
Let’s revisit our three business categories of; Process, Product People.
How well are you doing in each of these three categories?
Priorities
I recommend as a first objective you look critically at any deficiency in your products or services that can be addressed by your new Kaizen approach.
A second priority is to evaluate your processes and realize efficiency gains through targeted improvement projects. Your employees are invaluable in this strategy as they will know exactly what holds the processes back from greater performance. Ask them my favorite question one on one, "other than me, what holds you back, keeps you from doing your best work?"
The third priority is to further grow the skill set of your people. Enacting a continuous improvement strategy is a multi-year enterprise. This means you have time to intentionally build the skill set of your employees and leaders as you build your strategy. Start by having them learn Lean Kaizen and practice it on small improvement projects under the guidance of an external Lean Sensei.
Year 1 Plan
Identify SMART goals (Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Relevant – Timed) for each of the three areas. I recommend setting 90 day goals and tracking progress weekly. In this way you can quickly shore up any product / service defects that hold your business back. If you correct the right problems (right defined by customers perception of value) you will see immediate payback from this effort. Enhancing business processes and products/services will further strengthen customer perceptions of value.
With respect to your people, move from solely upskilling your leaders to also including basic problem solving training for your employees. Leaders should be well into their development plans throughout the year and those who stall out will become cultural growth obstacles.
Once you've got the plan, advance to Step #3 IMPROVE.
(Part 2 of 3)
PLAN
Okay now you have assessed your business and identified systemic deficiencies in certain customer facing processes, and evaluated the remainder of your processes. You have completed gap assessments on your leadership team and created development plans for your leadership team.
Let’s revisit our three business categories of; Process, Product People.
How well are you doing in each of these three categories?
Priorities
I recommend as a first objective you look critically at any deficiency in your products or services that can be addressed by your new Kaizen approach.
A second priority is to evaluate your processes and realize efficiency gains through targeted improvement projects. Your employees are invaluable in this strategy as they will know exactly what holds the processes back from greater performance. Ask them my favorite question one on one, "other than me, what holds you back, keeps you from doing your best work?"
The third priority is to further grow the skill set of your people. Enacting a continuous improvement strategy is a multi-year enterprise. This means you have time to intentionally build the skill set of your employees and leaders as you build your strategy. Start by having them learn Lean Kaizen and practice it on small improvement projects under the guidance of an external Lean Sensei.
Year 1 Plan
Identify SMART goals (Specific – Measurable – Achievable – Relevant – Timed) for each of the three areas. I recommend setting 90 day goals and tracking progress weekly. In this way you can quickly shore up any product / service defects that hold your business back. If you correct the right problems (right defined by customers perception of value) you will see immediate payback from this effort. Enhancing business processes and products/services will further strengthen customer perceptions of value.
With respect to your people, move from solely upskilling your leaders to also including basic problem solving training for your employees. Leaders should be well into their development plans throughout the year and those who stall out will become cultural growth obstacles.
Once you've got the plan, advance to Step #3 IMPROVE.
If you' re ready to begin building your continuous improvement strategy, we're here to help. Schedule your complementary STRATEGY SESSION and together we will design a plan that fits your unique business.
Dr. Ron Hurst
Avid cyclist, dog lover, life long learner, enthusiastic problem seeker. My life's work is to challenge leaders like you to grow your abilities to create empowering, positive, high performing workplaces.
President, CEO
Developing Leaders Inc.
Avid cyclist, dog lover, life long learner, enthusiastic problem seeker. My life's work is to challenge leaders like you to grow your abilities to create empowering, positive, high performing workplaces.
President, CEO
Developing Leaders Inc.
Featured Contributor
Let's Stay Connected!
We'll notify you so you never miss a post.
We'll notify you so you never miss a post.
Archives
Categories
All
Continuous Improvement
Leadership Development
Lean | 5s
Problem Solving